Disclaimer: Because I'm not the owners of Marvel, I don't own the X-men.
Author's Note: Enjoy and thank you for reading and reviewing.
Marie had informed Logan of what she wanted to talk to, well, ask of, Ororo and Hank. He had agreed. It was around 10 a.m. when they went looking for their friends and they found Hank showing Iliana around the medical lab.
"Hank, Marie and I wanted to talk to you." Logan tells Hank.
"Sounds fine." Hank replies.
"If you want to finish your tour, that's fine. We wanted to talk to you and Ororo at the same time." Marie adds.
"Shall I meet you in half an hour then?" Hank asks.
"Alright. If you don't care, meet in our room." Logan says. They turn to walk out of the med lab and find wherever it was Ororo hides these days. It didn't take them long to find her in the garden.
"'Ro, is it okay if Logan and I talk to you?" Marie asks.
"I don't see a problem with it." Ororo replies.
"Then can you meet in our room in about 20 minutes? Hank is supposed to meet us there." Marie adds. Logan is silent, trying to rock James back to sleep.
"I shall see you then." Ororo replies. Marie and Logan walk back into the mansion and back to their room.
"I think we are making the best decision." Logan tells Marie.
"We have always been closer to 'em than most of the others. I love Jubilee ta death, but I don't think she'd be ready for somethin' like this."
"Like we were any more the ready."
"You have a point, but this is different." Logan just nods as he places James in his basinet. The kid was worse than he was at times about not sleeping. Maybe it was the whole healing factor thing, so he didn't need as much. Marie lay down on the bed, debating if a ten minute nap was worth it. She hadn't slept too well the night before. Even though Logan and James were safe, she had more trouble falling asleep than usual. The late hour which they arrived back in their room didn't help much. Nor did James deciding he wanted to eat at 5 a.m.
A knock on the door pulled Marie out of her thoughts. Logan stood to open the door and Marie picked James up.
"Come on in." Logan told Hank and Ororo.
"Now, what was it that you needed to talk to us about?" Ororo asks.
"It's about James." Marie told them. Logan had closed the door and made his way back to Marie, standing behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders.
"You know neither of us have much family, at least not that we have anything to do with in Marie's case. This place and the people have become the closest thing either of us has to it." Logan began.
"We both, well all of us, live rough lives. I've been nearly killed at least twice, and I think Logan stopped counting the number of times he should have died."
"It wasn't that big of a deal if something happened to us before. Yeah, our friends would mourn and such, but we were only responsible for ourselves." Logan continued.
"Now we have James and all of that has changed. We need to know that if something happened to us, he would be taken care of. You two have been so kind to us and we trust you with our lives. We wanted to know if you would do us the honor and become James' God-parents." Marie finished. God-parents were a common thing where she was from. Generally they were married couples, probably an aunt and uncle or two friends your parents grew up with. She didn't know if it was a very common thing around here, or if they had really even heard of such a thing.
"Basically, if something happens to us, you will be there to take care of him." Logan added. It was a concept he had maybe heard mention of, but didn't pay much attention to.
"And you'd be a big part of his life as he grows up." Marie told them. "I know it can be a big responsibility, and I understand if you don't want…" Marie was cut off by Ororo.
"I cannot speak for Mr. McCoy, but I am willing to accept. The welfare of this child means a lot to me and I am honored by you asking me to take on such a role in his life." Ororo says as she reaches out for the child. Marie gives James to her to hold.
"I am also honored and willing to help in any way I can." Hank adds. Marie breaths in and takes a step back as Hank approaches the child.
"We don't have to." Logan tells Marie in a whisper, still holding on to her shoulders.
"But they need to know." Marie tells Logan.
"We have something else we need to tell you." Marie begins. She is lucky to have gotten this out. Logan knows it is going to be hard for her to tell them what happened. She can still barely form the words to him.
"Before we left, something happened. Drake violated her." The words were hard for him to.
"We had always been safe before and it had been a while since…." Marie was still uncomfortable. These people used to be her teachers.
"I had realized she was pregnant and told her when we reached Canada. I didn't fully realize it until after we had left or we probably wouldn't have left." Ororo looks in shock, Hank is too, but doesn't seem as surprised. "After I found out it hadn't been consensual, we decided to stay in Canada. We both found jobs and somewhere in the mix we got closer. I had promised to take care of both of them and everyone just assumed the baby was mine. After a little while, he actually felt like it."
"He has been an amazing dad so far. I didn't think Bobby deserved to be around James. He has changed so much since I first met him. I still don't want him to know but I felt you two should know since we are asking so much of you." Marie continued.
"I understand. I too have become concerned about Bobby. But I did not realize it had gone this far. Why didn't you tell anyone?" Hank asks.
"I didn't know until after I found out I was pregnant. It took some time, but I even started to have nightmares about it. I know it may seem unbelievable, but Bobby was the only person I had been with until Logan. It all just made sense; at least what happened did, not why." Marie says in a shaky voice.
"Your secret is safe with us." Ororo tells them. "I don't blame you for not wanting Robert to know."
"So is this what all the anger has been about?" Hank asks Logan.
"Yes. And he thinks the kid is his, but I don't think he is going to admit to ra- what he did to prove it." Logan adds.
"I have been so concerned about him. Ever since he fought St. John it is like he has been going down a slippery slope. Marie is right; he isn't the person he used to be." Hank says as he stairs out the window in their room. "This leaves one puzzle unsolved though."
"What's that?" Marie asks. She has just laid everything on the table, surely nothing was left.
"How James ended up with the healing mutation. I know mutations aren't always familial, but I find it odd how he gets a mutation we feel is from his father and it is not so. The odds are just against things like this."
"What if James absorbed Logan's mutation?" Ororo asks.
"It would seem plausible. The infant would see what was good for him based on instinct and copy Logan's healing abilities. But if he had it during the pregnancy, he must have had to have used Marie as an intermediary."
"Then could he transfer it to Marie now?" Logan asks. The idea of Marie being able to heal makes him so hopeful.
"He may have already." Hank states. "Generally what is in the best interest for the baby is what is in the best interest of the mother. While using her as the intermediary he also left her some healing abilities." Hank walks back towards Marie and takes her hand in his. He takes out a pocket knife and asks "May I?" Marie just nods as Hank slices a spot in her palm. Logan becomes slightly outraged, but is calmed down when he sees the wound begin to heal. It is much slower than how long it takes him to heal, it takes nearly a minute to heal what would have taken him a few seconds, but it does heal and leaves no scar.
"Amazing isn't it?" Hank adds. Marie is in shock. The feeling of healing so fast isn't completely uncommon to her, but it was something given to her, not something she took this time. How hadn't she realized this before? She really hadn't had many physical problems, the pregnancy was healthy, and she recovered quickly from the delivery, but she accredited all of this to taking care of herself and luck. To think her son had been taking care of her as much as she had been taking care of him.
Logan breathed a sigh of relief. Marie was safe, at least for now. He hoped she wouldn't have a need where faster healing was needed. He also wondered if this was for good or if it could be gone tomorrow. "How long will it last?"
"I can't say for sure. But if I had to guess I would say it is a permanent thing unless James decides to take it from her by reabsorbing it. But I doubt he will do this because it is still in his best interest for you to be healthy. Plus, it isn't exactly harming anyone." Hank says.
"He is an amazing child." Ororo tells them, handing the baby back to Marie.
"I've known that all along." Marie tells her.
"Well, if you all will excuse me, I have a tour to finish." Hank tells them as he steps out of the room. He needs time to absorb what had been told to him and he feels the couple needs the same.
"Is there anything you three need?" Ororo asks them.
"I think we're okay for now. We just need a little bit of time to absorb the wonderful news." Marie tells her.
"I think we will go into town shortly in order to get a few things." Logan tells her.
"Very well, your car is in the garage. Are you taking James with you?"
"Yeah. Today I would feel better if he was with me, especially after last night." Marie tells her. Ororo looks slightly disappointed. "Don't worry, you'll get to spend plenty of time with him."
"I'm glad to hear that. Well, have a good day." Ororo tells them as she leaves. The news is a lot to take in for her as well. She is proud of Logan for stepping up, but wonders what the future may bring considering everything which has went on. She was concerned for Bobby and agrees he shouldn't be truly involved in the child's life. She had even had her doubts about his ability to focus and be safe during missions, but he somehow found focus then. Knowing that Bobby suspected James was his son made matters worse. It may cause him to try something. While she felt James should eventually know about his origins, including his father, she feared for his safety. Bobby needed help, she just knew something was wrong, and until then it may take all four of them to protect the child.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Marie, are you ready to go?"
"Yes, I'm already starting to feel cramped in this mansion."
"Do you want to move out? I could find a house nearby and…"
"Not yet. I feel we are safer here for now. I just need to get out for a little while."
"Well, then lets go." Logan says as he takes her hand and leads her out of their room, to the garage and outside the gates of the mansion. They both needed fresh air and a change of scenery. James seemed to agree because he seemed to relax as soon as they exited the gates.